Bands which are worn on the limb of a person or animal are widely used to serve various functions. For example, bands on the arm, wrist, leg, or ankle have been used to allow easy identification of the wearer, to increase the wearer's visibility in certain conditions, and to carry articles. Nevertheless, there are deficiencies in this general area in that no bands satisfactorily perform all of these functions.
In general, bands are used most often by people engaged in an activity that requires the use of both hands or where having both hands free is preferred, for example, during exercise activities. In these situations, a person often desires to carry small articles such as keys, money, and/or identification. In cases when an activity is performed near automobile traffic, a person often desires to wear reflective material that will make him or her highly visible in an automobile's headlights. Additionally, for some organized sporting events, such as marathons and other races, it is necessary to provide the participants with lightweight, unobtrusive means of identification. Ideally, all of these ends could be achieved by a single band.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,481 to Giard discloses a wristband consisting of moisture-absorbent material with a pocket for carrying small articles. The wristband is composed of two, three, or more plies of fabric. The pocket is formed between two of these plies of fabric. The band is folded along its long dimension and has fasteners at two ends to provide for connecting the ends and wearing around the wrist. Due to its design, however, this wristband suffers from limited adjustability. Because it is composed of fabric that is not elastic, the wrist band will not be able to be worn on the upper arm or leg. Also, the wristband disclosed in Giard is relatively complex in design and appears to be disadvantageously difficult to don.
Many other US Patents involve means for including a pocket on a band of some kind, for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,341 to Rittmann, U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,424 to Roegner, and U.S. Pat. No. D373,900 to Montgomery, Sr. However, all of these designs suffer from the disadvantage of excessive complexity in creating the pocket structure. Many also involve relatively expensive components such as zippers or snap fasteners. These things contribute to the overall size and weight of the band. Because bands are most often used during exercise activities, it is important that the size and weight of the band be minimized so as to interfere with the wearer as little as possible.
What is desired, therefore, is a band to be worn by a person or animal that is highly adjustable for use on limbs of various sizes, that allows the wearer to easily carry small articles, that is lightweight, of minimal size and bulk, that permits the application of reflective material and/or an identification placard, and that is simple in design and easy to produce.